Jannik Sinner’s bid for his first grand slam title is off to a convincing start after the Italian eased past Dutch challenger Botic van de Zandschulp at the Australian Open.

The fourth seed was broken once by van de Zandschulp during their two hours and 34 minutes on Rod Laver Arena but was never seriously troubled, winning 6-4 7-5 6-3.

After not taking part in any of the pre-Australian Open tournaments, the 22-year-old was able to shake off some rustiness on Sunday against the world No.59 in his opening round match.

“It’s my first match of the season it means a lot to me to start off with a win,” Sinner said.

‘I think I’m in good shape’

“It’s (Australian Open) a tournament where I would like to play as good as possible.

“When I finished the (2023) season I went to ski immediately a little bit. It was good for me to not think about tennis.

“Physically I feel good. The first match of the season is never easy but I think I’m in good shape.”

An exciting prospect for years, Sinner appears ready to take the next step in 2024 after finishing last year as arguably the hottest player on the ATP Tour.

He beat major winners Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev on his way to the Beijing title.

Sinner then avenged a loss to Novak Djokovic in the ATP Finals decider by outplaying the legendary Serb twice in a day at the Davis Cup.

He is yet to qualify for a grand slam final, with his best result at the Australian Open a quarter-final in 2022.

Coached by Australian Darren Cahill, the classy right-hander looms as one of the toughest obstacles to Djokovic’s hopes for a record-extending 11th title at Melbourne Park.

The world No.1 begins his title defence on Sunday night against Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic.

-AAP